Re: [compost_tea] Re: Habitats for worms, and others....

From: <soilfoodweb_at_aol.com>
Date: Fri, 02 Jan 2004 03:12:42 -0500

As Kelly said, "if you build it, they will come"

It's what we are doing when we maintain aeration above 6 ppm in a cpomst tea. When we add good foods for fungi, or bacteria. When we make sure the temperature is in a good range to grow fungi and bacteria in a 24 hour period.

We are building the habitat correctly to allow the beneficials to have the best chance to live in the house.

The good guys need oxygen. They need food. As Arden Anderson likes to point out, oxygen, water, food and comfort is what makes the habitat correct.

Think about how long you can live without air. Same with the beneficial microorganisms in soil, compost or compost tea. Just as people can only live a few minutes without oxygen, oxygen is the most critical with respect to that fact that you can't live long without it. when it is gone, the habitat rapidly changes, and thus the organisms living there will rapidly change.

Water is second on this list. You can go without water for a couple days. Beneficials will go to sleep within only slightly longer time periods as compared to oxygen when the moisture level moves off target.

Then consider food. How long can you go without food? A few weeks. So in terms of a critical factor for surviving, food isn't as important as air or water. But as a factor that selects for growth and reproduction, it is very important.

Build the habitat correctly and the beneficial orgnaisms will move right in, if they are around.

Unfortunately in most soils, we have killed most of the beneficials that should move in. So, compost and compost tea provide the organisms to move into the habitats we start to build by adding the foods in the compost and compost tea or cover crops.

We all know that anaerobic conditions kill plant roots, that compaction results in anaerobic conditions which will result in plant root death, and thus plant death, through a number of possible mechanisms.

Anaerobic conditions result in volitilization of N, P, S, and a number of bad-news-for-your-plant organic acids.

So, why would you want to make and apply a compost tea that went anaerobic? You will not benefit biology in the soil if you add anaerobic bacteria to your soil. Things will move backwards.

Even if anaerobic teas kill a few pathogens, why push the rest of the system backwards, when if you use an aerobic tea, all plant surfaces will have improved protection? As well as all the other benefits I talk about being possible.

There is more to biology than disease suppression. Please hold that in mind when explaining compost tea. Actively aerobic compost tea is way beyond just protecting leaf surfaces from black spot being able to find a foot-hold.

Elaine Ingham
President, Soil Foodweb Inc.
SFI Corvallis, OR
SFI Port Jefferson, NY
SFI Lismore, NSW, Australia
SFI Hilversum, The Netherlands
SFI Cambridge, New Zealand
www.soilfoodweb.com

 

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Received on Fri Jan 02 2004 - 09:35:21 EST

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